how to create an online e-petition (this is a web site supplied by a third party and not the Council and as such the data is controlled and can be viewed by this third party, please read the Privacy Policy on the third party site for further details)

1. What is a petition?

A petition is a formal written request signed by at least 250 people who live, work or study in Cornwall (including those under 18), or use the service(s) to which the petition relates.

Other procedures apply if your petition relates to a planning or licensing application, is a statutory petition (i.e. requesting a referendum on having an elected mayor) or on a matter where there is already an existing right of representation or appeal. For further information on these procedures you can speak to our Petitions Office, telephone number 01872 323789.

Under the Council’s Petition Scheme, petitions that meet a certain threshold level (i.e. signed by a specific number of people) and relate to a Cornwall wide issue will be considered for a Council debate in accordance with section 6 of the scheme.

2. What are the guidelines for submitting a petition?

Any petition submitted to the Council must be signed by at least 250 people who live, work or study in Cornwall or use a service(s) that the petition relates to can submit or subscribe to a petition, including those under the age of 18.

Petitions submitted to the Council must include:

A clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition stating what action the petitioners wish the Council to take

The name, address and signature of any person supporting the petition (including email address for ePetitions)

A summary of any action taken to resolve the issue, including details of elected members that have been approached

Details of the petition organiser (name, contact address and email)

Petitions should relate to the functions of the Council or other public services for which the Local Authority has a shared delivery responsibility. Wherever possible, petitioners are encouraged to use Cornwall Council's petition template.

3. What will the Council do when it receives my petition?

All petitions sent or presented to the Council will receive confirmation of receipt within 3 working days of being received by the Council's Petitions Office. Within 15 working days of either receipt of a paper petition or the closure of an e-petition we will write to the lead petitioner explaining what we plan to do with the petition.

Details of the petition, including, wherever possible, all correspondence relating to the petition will be published on our website (all personal details will be removed).

4. How will the Council respond to petitions?

How we respond will depend on what your petition asks for and how many people have signed it. In summary:

If you wish your petition to be debated at:

Full Council - your petition will need to relate to a Cornwall wide issue and be signed by 5,000 people or more

Ordinary petitions - all other petitions will be dealt with as an ordinary petition (250 signatures or more but less than those detailed above) and we will reasonably determine how to deal with your petition and advise you as to what that process will be.

Please note: the Council will not take action on any petition which it considers to be vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate.

5. Where do I submit my petition?

Alternatively you can deliver your petition to one of our One Stop Shops or Out and About Service.

6. E-petitions

The Council welcomes e-petitions created and submitted through our website. In general e-petitions must follow the same guidelines as paper petitions. In addition, petition organisers and subscribers must provide a valid email address and indicate the period for which the petition will be open to subscription. This will be a period between 1 month and 6 months from the date of registration.

The Council's e-petition website is available at:http://www.freepetition.co.uk/cornwall/ (this is a web site supplied by a third party and not the Council and as such the data is controlled and can be viewed by this third party, please read the Privacy Policy on the third party site for further details)

how to create an online e-petition (this is a web site supplied by a third party and not the Council and as such the data is controlled and can be viewed by this third party, please read the Privacy Policy on the third party site for further details)

Other procedures apply if your petition relates to a planning or licensing application, is a statutory petition (i.e. requesting a referendum on having an elected mayor) or on a matter where there is already an existing right of representation or appeal. For further information on these procedures you can speak to our Petitions Office, telephone number 01872 323789.

Under the Council’s Petition Scheme, petitions that meet a certain threshold level (i.e. signed by a specific number of people) and relate to a Cornwall wide issue will be considered for a Council debate in accordance with section 6 of the scheme.

Any petition submitted to the Council must be signed by at least 250 people who live, work or study in Cornwall or use a service(s) that the petition relates to can submit or subscribe to a petition, including those under the age of 18.

Petitions submitted to the Council must include:

A clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition stating what action the petitioners wish the Council to take

The name, address and signature of any person supporting the petition (including email address for ePetitions)

A summary of any action taken to resolve the issue, including details of elected members that have been approached

Details of the petition organiser (name, contact address and email)

Petitions should relate to the functions of the Council or other public services for which the Local Authority has a shared delivery responsibility. Wherever possible, petitioners are encouraged to use Cornwall Council's petition template.

All petitions sent or presented to the Council will receive confirmation of receipt within 3 working days of being received by the Council's Petitions Office. Within 15 working days of either receipt of a paper petition or the closure of an e-petition we will write to the lead petitioner explaining what we plan to do with the petition.

Details of the petition, including, wherever possible, all correspondence relating to the petition will be published on our website (all personal details will be removed).

How we respond will depend on what your petition asks for and how many people have signed it. In summary:

If you wish your petition to be debated at:

Full Council - your petition will need to relate to a Cornwall wide issue and be signed by 5,000 people or more

Ordinary petitions - all other petitions will be dealt with as an ordinary petition (250 signatures or more but less than those detailed above) and we will reasonably determine how to deal with your petition and advise you as to what that process will be.

Please note: the Council will not take action on any petition which it considers to be vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate.

The Council welcomes e-petitions created and submitted through our website. In general e-petitions must follow the same guidelines as paper petitions. In addition, petition organisers and subscribers must provide a valid email address and indicate the period for which the petition will be open to subscription. This will be a period between 1 month and 6 months from the date of registration.

The Council's e-petition website is available at:http://www.freepetition.co.uk/cornwall/ (this is a web site supplied by a third party and not the Council and as such the data is controlled and can be viewed by this third party, please read the Privacy Policy on the third party site for further details)